Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, through an amendment to the Finance Bill for 2017-18, had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar.

The income tax department has launched an online facility to correct errors in names and other details in permanent account number (PAN) and Aadhaar document.

Alongside the facility to link biometric identifier Aadhaar with PAN, the department has also put two separate hyperlinks on its e-filing website – one to update changes in existing PAN data or for application of new PAN by an Indian or a foreign citizen.

The second hyperlink is for individuals who want to update Aadhaar details by logging into ‘Aadhaar Self Service Update Portal’ using the unique identity number. The individual can then upload scanned documents as proof for data update request.

Over 1.22 crore assessees already have Aadhaar-linked PAN but the number is abysmally low as there are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country, while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people.

As per statistics with the tax department, only 6 crore people file income tax returns at present.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, through an amendment to the Finance Bill for 2017-18, had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar to curb tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

Last week, the income tax department launched a facility to enable a taxpayer to link his Aadhaar and PAN.

It required a person to put in PAN and Aadhaar number along with his name as per the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) data.

After verification from the UIDAI, the linking will be confirmed. In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided, Aadhaar OTP will be sent to the mobile number registered with the UIDAI.

Additionally, the income tax department has now launched a facility to correct anomalies in PAN or Aadhaar document.